Nest.



L. W. MITTENDORFF.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON, u. c.

L. W. MITTENDORPF.

NEST.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 29, 1910.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

2SHEBTS-SHEBT 2.

62% law LOUIS W. MITTENDORFF, 0F YORK, NEBRASKA.

NEST.

Specification of Letters, Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

Application filed January 29, 1910. Serial No. 540,877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, Louis W. MrTrnN- nonrr, acitizen of the United States, residing at York, in the county of Yorkand State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Nest, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in nests for laying hens whichmay be uti lized as brooding coops, and one object of the invention is.to provide a nest which may be readily collapsed so as to be shipped orstored in a knocked down condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nest in which the henwill be automatically trapped upon entering the nest, and will beconfined therein until removed by the owner so that the identificationof the egg with the hen that laid it will be certain, and the pedigreeof the chicken hatched from the egg will not be lost.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device which may bemanufactured at a small cost, which may be readily assembled ordismembered, and which, when in use, will be thoroughly proof againstrats or vermin which might injure the hen or destroy the egg.

All of these objects and such other objects as will hereinafter appearare attained in the use of the device illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and the invention consists in certain novel features thereofwhich will be hereinafter first fully de scribed and then specificallypointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a nest embodying myinvention, showing two entrances, with the door of one of the entrancesraised and the door of the other entrance lowered. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is atransverse vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal vertical section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is adetail plan view of a portion of the nest. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the trigger or trip by which the dor is automaticallyreleased. Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of the transversepartition which forms the front of the nest proper. Figs. 8, 9 and 10are detail perspective views of different forms of doors In theaccompanying drawings, I have illustrated the invention as embodied in adouble nest, that is, a nest in which there are two compartments, but itwill be understood, of course, that such showing is merely typical andthat no departure from the invention will be involved in applying thesame to a. nest having but a single compartment or a nest having anygreater numb-er of compartments.

in carrying out my invention, I construct the body of the nest of sheetmetal in two members constituting the ends 1 of the nest and each memberforming part of the top and bottom of the nest, the top of the nestbeing shown at 2 and the bottom thereof in dicated at 8. The meetingedges of the top and bottom of the nest are so shaped as to provide theinterlocking joint 4 whereby the two members may he slid endwisetogether, and, when in engagement, will be held firmly againsttransverse separation. The joint, as will be readily understood, isformed by providing one member of the body with an overhanging flange 5,and the other .member wit-h a flange 6 extending upward and then outwardfrom the body so as to fit around the overhanging flange 5 of themeeting member, the said flange 6 being lurther provided with an.inturned tongue 7 engaging under the overhanging flange 5, as clearlyshown in Fig. 4. The central into engagement with the said guides so aspartition 8, of sheet metal, is engagedin to fit between the top andbottom of the members and also between the end and back of the nest. Inorder to reinforce the partition, the edges of the same are doubled onthemselves, as shown at 10, so as to provide a slightly wider bearingsurface, which will prevent cutting of the fingers by the partition whenthe same is being pushed into place. The body members are also providedat the front and rear edges of the ends 1 with outstanding flanges 11,and at the front 1 l and rear edges of the bottom, the said body memberare provided with grooved flanges 12, as shown, the front and rear edgesof the top of the body members being provided with straight flanges 13similar to the flanges 11 on the ends of the members.

The back of the nest, 15, is composed of a sheet metal plate having itsupper edge provided with an overhanging inverted U- shaped flange 15adapted to fit over the up-.

turned flange 13 on the top of the body member, as shown inFig. 3, whilethe lower edge of the back plate is adapted to rest in the groovedflange 12, as shown in the same figure. It will be seen at once that bythis construction the back of the device is detachably engaged with andsupported by the body members, so that it may be readily liftedtherefrom when it is desired to dismember the device, and in order toprevent the said back plate from slipping laterally from its engagementwith the top and bottom of the body members, the sides or end edges ofthe said back plate are formed into U-shaped grooves 16 which engage theoutstanding flanges 11 on the ends of the body members, whereby lateralmovement of the back" plate relative to the body members will bepositively prevented, as will be readily understood on reference to Fig.2. The

front 17 of the device is constructed of a sheet metal plate similar inshape and size to the back plate 14 and likewise provided at its endswith flanges 18 adapted to engage the flanges 11 onthe ends of the bodymembers, and with an over-hanging flange 19 at its upper edge adaptedtoengage the upstanding flange 13 of the body members.

The front plate will thus be prevented from moving awayfrom the bodyofthe device in the same manner as the back plate,- while at the same timeit may be readily lifted vertically out of its engagement with the saidbody members when it is desired to ship or store the device in a smallcompass.

The front plate is'provided with openings.

20 forming entrances to thefnest chambers or compartments, and on theouter'face of they said front plate, coincident with the side edges ofthese openings, are cleats or guides 21 in which are slidably mounteddoors 22 adapted to close the openings 20 and therei by confine the henwithin the nest chamber.

7 5 lip 25 being adapted to engage the support or guide 24 and therebyprevent the trigger being drawn therethrough when the hen enters thenest, and the slotted portion 26 being engaged by the trip or lever 27so as to i be, actuated thereby when the hen passes through the entrance20. This trip lever-27 consists of a light wire frame having a centralloop 28 which engages the slotted portion 26. of the trigger and sidearms 29 which extend below the trigger, and, in their normalposition,block the entrance opening 20 so that the hen cannot enter thecompartment without pushing the said lever inward and thereby drawingthe trigger in the same direction, whereupon the door 22, normallysupported by the trigger, as shown in Fig. 3, will drop so as to coverthe entrance and thereby prevent the hen passing from the compartment.The lever 27 is hinged or pivotally supported upon the inner face of thefront of the device, as shown at 30, by having the transverse shouldersat its upper end passed through suitable keepers on the front plate ofthe device, as will be readily understood on reference to Figs. 4 and 6.

In order toprovide a suitable nest in which the hen may deposit the egg,I provide a transverse partition 31 of sheet metal which is bowed orcurved so that when in of the device and is provided at its ends withlips or hooks 32 adapted to engage guides or cleats 33 on the sides ofthe nest chamber. In the form of the device illustrated, one ofposition, it will project toward the front these cleats or guides 33 isprovided on each side of the partition 8 and one. on the inner side ofeach end of the device. These guides or cleats.33. are arranged at thebottom of the partition or the end wall of the nest and are ofsuflicient height to securely holdthe transverse partition 31, but donot extend upward to such a degree as to interfere with the movements ofthe hen or with the insertion of the partition 8 into or its withdrawalfrom the device. Itwill be observed, on ref- 7,

erence to Fig. 2, that these cleats have in. wardly converging walls andthat the lips at the ends of the partition are in the form of hooks.This construction permits the use of sheet metal, and at the same timeholdsthe partition in such positive engagement with the cleats that itcan not be accidentally dislodged therefrom.

The construction and arrangement .ofthe a In order to prevent breakageof the egg, a covering of straw may be placed behind the partition 31and this straw packing or coveringwill serve to attract the hen, so thatshe will naturally enter the nest when about to lay. As the hen passesthrough the entrance opening, her body will strike against the lower endof' the trip lever and the. said lever will thereby be swung inward andupward so as to draw the trigger 25 inward and release the door 22',which will at once several parts of the device beingthus'made drop bygravity to the lower ends of the cleats or guides 21 and be therebysupported 3 in position to cover the entrance opening, it

being understood that the lower ends of the cleats or guides areprovided with stops or shoulders 34: to support the doors in their lowerposition. It will be noted that the door is of such dimensions that aslight engages the rear end of the said slot, thereby permitting the hento enter the nest before thedoor is released, and consequently avoidingliability of injury to the hen by the falling door. After the door hasbeen lowered and the hen has passed over and behind the partition 31,the trip lever and the trigger will return to their initial positionsand.

the trigger will then project over the edge of the door so that the doorcannot be raised by any effort of the hen to escape. The hen willconsequently be confined within the nest until the owner has releasedher, so that the identification of the egg with the hen will becomplete.

In order to permit the front plate to be removed from the nest withoutfirst detaching the trigger and the trip lever, an opening 35 is formedin the top of the device so that the trigger may readily pass throu hthe top without any necessity of being fetached from the front plate.Likewise, the assembling of the front plate with the other parts of thenest will be facilitated, inasmuch as the trigger and the trip lever maybe shipped detached from the rest of the nest but without requiring theseparation of the trigger and the trip lever from the front plate, theslotted connection of the trigger with the trip lever permitting thesaid parts to lie flat against the front plate when the same is storedor shipped.

While the device is intended more particularly for use as a nest, it isalso capable of use as a brooding chamber for a hen and chickens, and inorder to provide for such use of the device, I purpose supplying thesame with a door 36 covered with wire netting or screen 37 and also withan open door frame 38 across which spaced wires 39 extend in order thateither one of these doors may be substituted for the solid door 22 toadmit suflicient light and air to the interior of the device when thesame is being used as a brooder.

The device is preferably constructed of sheet metal so that it will beproof against the attacks of rats, vermin or other pests which mayaffect the hen or destroy the egg, and it will be noted that it isentirely free of any nails or similar fastenings which would tend toleave projecting points, liable to lacerate the hen in passing to andfrom the nest chamber. The assembling and disassembling of the partswill require but a few minutes time, inasmuch as the several parts areheld together by sliding joints, and the joints are so arranged that theparts will not separate until they are subjected to the action of theowner in intentionally setting up or taking down the nest.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying draw ings, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to thoseiskilled in the artto which the invention appertains, and while I have described theprinciple of operation of the invention, together with the device whichI now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desireltoihave itunderstood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that suchchanges may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claimsappended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A knockdown nest comprising a body portion composed of two membersjoined intermediately and each including one end of the body member anda portion of the top and bottom, and removable front and back memberseach slidable along the end members transversely to the top members andtoward and from the bottom members, the latter having marginal groovedflanges for receiving the corresponding edges of the front and backmembers, and the said front and back members having marginal flangesreceiving corresponding portions of the end and top members.

2. The combination of a body having grooved flanges at its lower edgesand upstanding flanges at its upper edges, a back plate provided at itsupper edge with an overhanging flange adapted to engage the upstandingflange on the body and having its lower edge adapted to rest in thegrooved flange at the lower edge of the body, afront plate provided withan overhanging flange engaging the upstanding flange at the top of thebody and having its lower edge resting in the grooved flange at thelower edge of the body, and a door carried by the said front plate.

3. A knock-down nest comprising a body portion composed of two membersjoined intermediately and each including one end of the body member anda portion of the top and bottom, and removable front and back memberseach slidable along the end members transversely to the top members andtoward and from the bottom members, the latter having marginal groovedflanges for receiving the corresponding edges of the v front and backmembers, and the said front and back members having marginal flangesreceiving corresponding portions of the end and top members, a top and abottom memberwhere joinedtbthemating. top and bottom member beingprovided with u-shaped guides',-and there being also provided apartition. adapted toislidably engage in said guides and held theretobetween the back and front members 4. A knock-down nest comprising abody portion composed of two members joined .intermediately andv eachincluding one end of the body member and a portion of the .top andbottom, and removable front and back members eachtislidable along theend members transverselyto the top members and toward and from thebottom members, the latter having marginal grooved flanges for receivingthe corresponding edges of the front and backmembers, and the said frontand back members having marginal flanges receiving correspondingportions of the end and top members, a top and bottom member wherejoined to the mating top and bottom member being provided with U-shapedguides, and there being also provided a partition adapted toslidablyengage in said guides and held thereto between the back andfront members, the front member having'openings therein with guides onopposite sides, and doors slidably mounted in said guides. I

' 5. The combination of a nest body, a re movable front plate therefor,adoor slid ably mounted on said front plate, a trigger mounted fortransverse movement in the front plate and adapted "tosupport thedoor,

and a lever hung on-the front plate' in a normally pendent .position'andconnected with the trigger to release the latter,-the said I leverhaving an initial: extent of idle move- 'ment. with referenceto thetrigger.

6. The combination of a nest body,

front plate therefor, a, door 'slidably mount- 1 ed on said front plate,a trigger mounted on the front plate for transverse movement withrelation thereto and adapted to support the door, said-trigger having aslotted portion at the end remote from the door engaging portion, and anormally pendent trip lever pivotally mounted on the front plate and:engaging the slotted portion of' the trigger, said lever extending intransverse relation to the door opening and having an idle movementrelative to said trigger corresponding to the length of the slot in thetrigger.

V 7. The combination of a nest body, a front plate therefor, a doorslidably'mounted on 'the front plate, a trigger mounted transversely inthe front plate and provided at its" front end with a depending lip and"at its rear end with a longitudinal slot, anda trip lea-er pivotallyhung on the front plate and LOUIS W. MITTENDORFF. I V

Vitnesses: V V V 1 I GEO W. NEILLY,

CHAS. F. GILBERT.

Copies of this patentmay be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, J). G.

